You Must Take Part in Revolution

China has expelled both Badiucao and Melissa Chan for their art and journalism, respectively, so it’s no surprise they would combine their talents for their debut graphic novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution. Here, they create a world similar to Hong Kong circa 2019, then shift readers into Taiwan in 2035. It is not a future that readers will have to stretch their minds to imagine. Three characters — Andy, Maggie, and Olivia — meet during the Hong Kong protests, and work together for a period of time before dividing over how best to thwart the Chinese government. Over the course of the book, they learn about politics, each other, and themselves, as they make decisions that affect the region, as well as their lives.

Andy is an Asian-American whose parents fled the turmoil that Andy has chosen to return to, and he’s the primary character the book follows. He begins by believing that nonviolent protest can ultimately change Hong Kong and Taiwan — that they can develop a true democracy. His beliefs lead to a falling out with Maggie, who advocates a more militaristic, violent rebellion, leading to one of the most dramatic developments in the work. 

Andy and Maggie undergo a shift in their beliefs after their paths diverge, with Olivia coming back later in the work as they begin to reconnect. Even when Andy shifts his approach, though, he encounters challenges not just from the Chinese government, as the United States creates other problems for him. There is white supremacy in the military, as he discovers when he joins to learn how to use violence for rebellion. The current president of the United States, a woman whose beliefs sound strikingly similar to Donald Trump's, has also resurrected internment camps for Asian-Americans.

All this leads Andy to question why he’s working for democracy in Taiwan at all, saying that he’s risking his life “for a cause that’s dead.” He ends by saying, “We’re no longer defending democracy! We’re defending the indefensible! The only reason why the Taiwanese are putting up with us is that they still have a democracy worth fighting for!” Before the climax of the novel, he tells two of his fellow soldiers that “to save people…[he has to] give up some of [his] humanity.” This question of how far one should go in protest and what effect it has on that person is at the core of the graphic novel. There’s no question that China and the United States have turned their back on democracy and decency, but how one should rebel against such entities remains unanswered.

Maggie’s transition moves in the opposite direction, as she meets Tenzin, a Tibetan who helps her meditate and pray and look for purpose in actions she has taken that she now regrets. While her more violent actions were for the right reason, she ultimately questions the collateral damage that she caused. Near the end of the work, Maggie says, “I understand that fighting for freedom comes at a cost. That cost is compassion. One day you look in the mirror and suddenly find yourself staring at the face of the enemy!” 

Olivia asks similar questions, as she witnesses a nuclear attack that kills innocent people, an attack she was tangentially involved in, which leads to guilt and second-guessing. She also has family history with politics and activism, which complicates her feelings even more, as a father figure appears at various times to remind her of her familial debt. When she and Andy move apart from one another, the art reinforces that idea as the background between them starts as a small crack and progresses to an abyss.

Badiucao’s primary palette is black and white, leading to each panel looking like sketches done via woodblock printing with heavy ink. Backgrounds are full of grays and blacks even when characters are in nature or out during the day. In the same way that the political world is dark, the world that Badiucao draws is bleak. Interestingly, then, that almost all of the color in the book comes from moments of violence, whether it's the blood from protestors shot with rubber bullets or a supposed charm that turns out to be a means of betrayal or plans for an attack. The major exception is early in the work, is the well-known yellow umbrellas the Hong Kong protestors carried.

This work is not one that’s going to end with a neat conclusion, showing people that they should or shouldn’t protest or what kind of activism they should take up, if any. In fact, it’s easy to walk away believing that there’s no reason to try rebelling against such powerful systems, especially in such a politically fraught time as 2025. Maggie even comments near the end of the book, “We are wreckages of human ambition and power.” Badiucao and Chen both know the reality of going against such powers, as they have to omit numerous people in their acknowledgements to protect them.

However, in an interview with NPR, Badiucao says, in response to a question of whether this work is a warning, “More than warning, I hope this work is a reminder of what happened in the history, like the Tiananmen Massacre or the protests from Hong Kong. But more importantly, I hope this work will be a force of empowerment for the readers to realize that individual are just not a powerless force in the society. That actually there is a lot of potential for individuals to make change in the scale of history, if we believe our choices, if we act now.” Badiucao and Chan want to ask readers questions about protesting, but they also want to remind readers that their actions can and do have real effects. Inaction is not an option in the world they’ve created, and they hope it’s not one their readers will choose, either.

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